Talking season is in full swing with SEC Media Days underway in Dallas this week. Coaches and players from across the conference have been speaking with the media about their respective teams ahead of the 2024 season.
Every college football team heading into next season looks somewhat different than it did a year ago, thanks to the transfer portal, and Arkansas is no exception. Since the end of the 2023 season, the Razorbacks lost more than 20 players to the portal and added more than 20 scholarship players via the portal.
Three of those transfers — linebacker Xavien Sorey Jr. (Georgia), offensive lineman Addison Nichols (Tennessee) and defensive back Doneiko Slaughter (Tennessee) — had former teammates speak highly of them during Media Days on Tuesday.
Volunteers' defensive lineman Omari Thomas said he was close with both Slaughter and Nichols, and he’s excited about playing against them when Tennessee comes to Arkansas on Oct. 5.
“They’re both still my guys, I still talk to both of them,” Thomas said from the main stage Tuesday. “(Slaughter), that’s really my guy. He was in my class coming in. Addison (Nichols), going against him, learning against him as a person. He was literally across me in the locker room, so I look forward to seeing them when we play them.”
One of Nichols’ fellow offensive linemen, Cooper Mays, also had good things to say about his former teammate.
“The biggest thing is he’s a guy that works really hard,” Mays said while donning a cowboy hat. “He’s got a lot of physical tools. He’s a huge guy, really strong. Strong in the weight room, strong on the field. He’s young and still trying to put it all together like we all are, and I think he’ll have a good spot at Arkansas.”
While at Tennessee, both Slaughter and Nichols played against Georgia, another team the Razorbacks picked a transfer from in Sorey. the former five-star recruit left Georgia to come to an Arkansas linebacker room that needed help in the worst way, and Sorey is expected to be a major contributor to the team in 2024.
“Sorey, he’s special for sure, he’s one of my good guys,” Georgia safety Malaki Starks told reporters. “Just to watch him as a player, he’s a great athlete. The things he can do, there’s no limit on it. As a person, he’s awesome. He’s the kind of person you want to be around in your locker room. The type of person you want to follow when you first get here.”
Bulldogs defensive lineman Mykel Williams echoed Starks’ comments about Sorey’s on-field performance, as well as his character off it.
“Sorey’s a dog, he’s a sideline-to-sideline guy,” Williams said. “He’s a great person, though. A great human, really. He’s a funny guy, a great guy to have in the locker room.”
Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman will take the stage at SEC Media Days on Thursday, as will quarterback Taylen Green, wide receiver Andrew Armstrong and defensive end Landon Jackson. Stay tuned to HawgBeat for more coverage of Arkansas football leading up to the start of the 2024 season.
